Cycle expressway

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Sign 350.1 "Radschnellweg" of the German road traffic regulations since 2020
Cycle expressway near Egelsbach , Germany
Fietsostrade F1 , Antwerpen-Berchem , Belgium
Fietssnelweg F35 , Enschede , Netherlands
RijnWaalpad , Nijmegen , the Netherlands
De Liemers , Westervoort , Netherlands
Sign 342 "Shark teeth" of the German road traffic regulations since 2020

Radschnellwege , in Germany (and then with clear standard specifications) Radschnellverbindungen , in Switzerland and bike paths called , are compounds in the cycle network a municipality or urban-rural region, the key target areas with correspondingly high source and / or destination traffic over greater Linking distances and consistently enabling safe and attractive driving at high speeds .

In Europe, bicycle highways are increasingly being created; Denmark , Germany and the Netherlands are seen as pioneers: high-quality connections are primarily intended to link residential areas , training and workplaces, shopping and cultural centers and public transport hubs ( → intermodal transport ). Dutch experience shows that after the construction of a fast cycle route, 5–15% of those who drive in the area change to bicycles.

definition

The term Radschnellweg has not been an official designation in Germany in the sense of the road traffic regulations, nor does it appear in the currently valid German road construction regulations. However, there is a working paper of the Research Association for Roads and Transport (FGSV), Use and Design of Rapid Cycle Connections from 2014, which systematised the state of knowledge on rapid cycle connections and thus made it available for practical use. The working paper sees itself as a supplement to the existing regulations, the recommendations for cycling facilities (ERA 2010) and the guidelines for integrated network design (RIN) . In the working paper, clear criteria are defined, while in practice the standards aimed at are still set very differently in practice, except in North Rhine-Westphalia , where these have been bindingly regulated since 2012. Numerous public clients in Germany require that the criteria of the working paper be used for planning and construction .

For the FGSV working paper, it is planned to develop it further with planning and practical experience and to incorporate it into a revision of the recommendations for bicycle traffic facilities .

properties

Cycle superhighways are used for high-performance and fast handling of larger amounts of cycle traffic. Particularly high quality standards with regard to the route, design, network connection and accompanying equipment are essential in order to keep travel time and energy consumption as low as possible. According to the FGSV definition, fast cycle connections should be at least five kilometers long and, based on the ERA 2010, allow average travel speeds of at least 20 km / h. The width of two-way cycle paths in the course of a fast cycle connection should ideally be chosen so that two bicycles can ride next to each other and can be overtaken by a third bicycle without interference or oncoming traffic is possible.

When implementing cycle superhighways, the following design elements are used in particular:

  • Independently guided cycle path (mostly along other traffic axes or as a forest and forest path with "cyclists free")
  • Roadside cycle path ("curb cycle path", cycle lane , environmental network lane )
  • Bicycle roads (priority for cyclists)

Depending on the type of leadership, the greatest possible directness and rapid progress are achieved in different ways on cycle highways. Especially in densely populated areas, the most important elements are bicycle roads , traffic lights with prioritization for bicycle traffic, crossing aids ("jump or central islands"), mini roundabouts for all road users and level-free intersections. The separation from heavy vehicle traffic outside and pedestrian traffic, at least in town, The aim is to protect cyclists from noise and conflicts with other road users. The experience of the landscape and the recreational factor play a subordinate role. Cycle superhighways are usually not directly networked with each other, but the connections and access routes to the rest of the road and cycle traffic network should enable good accessibility and rapid entry and exit.

A high-quality, weather-independent road surface reduces energy consumption and ensures a high level of driving comfort in all weather conditions. Winter service and street lighting ensure safety and acceptance in winter and in the dark. Depending on the location and needs, service stations with different dimensions with shelters, bicycle parking systems, air pumps or hose machines can be a useful addition to the route service.

The costs for creating cycle superhighways are very much dependent on the proportion of bridges and tunnels as well as the necessary alignment work . In the Netherlands, 0.5 to 2 million euros are calculated per kilometer of the cycle superhighway (including signage and lighting). According to initial estimates, the construction of cycle superhighways in Germany will turn out to be somewhat more cost-effective, as the existing transport infrastructure is often to be expanded and existing routes are to be used. In Belgium, where a similar strategy is being followed, the costs are calculated between 0.3 and 0.8 million euros per kilometer.

international Developement

California Cycleway, 1900

The first cycle highway was the California Cycleway from Pasadena to downtown Los Angeles , which opened in 1900, based on an idea by businessman Horace Dobbins. The cycle superhighway was made of wood, was elevated, free of intersections, illuminated and subject to a toll, and was intended to enable a quick connection to downtown Los Angeles. Four cyclists could ride side by side, the construction was already prepared for doubling the width and the gradient should be an average of only one percent and a maximum of three percent. At its highest point, the rapid cycle path would have run at a height of 15 meters. Due to the increasing motorization and the associated end of the bicycle boom in North America (the so-called bicycle craze ) and the parallel tram of the Pacific Electric Railway , only a short distance of the planned almost 15 kilometers was realized. The concept of an intersection-free expressway was from now on planned and built for motorized individual traffic. Edmondson Alley in Pasadena and the Arroyo Seco Parkway , which opened from 1938–1941 , the first highway in California, run on the areas for the (planned) cycle expressway.

In the recent past, cycle superhighways can be found mainly in the Netherlands and Belgium , as well as in Denmark , but here often with lower standards than those currently being striven for in Germany in terms of width, separation from pedestrian traffic and priority over crossing traffic. As early as the 1980s , fast, continuous cycle routes were tested in Tilburg and The Hague in order to relieve road networks that are prone to traffic jams. There are bike express routes in Basel and Copenhagen connects the suburbs with green or low-vehicle routes, wide cycle paths and green waves .

In 2011, the Netherlands planned 20 more routes in addition to the eight existing “Fietssnelwege”. With the renaissance of the bicycle as an everyday means of transport, other European countries are also beginning to implement cycle superhighways. Six of the twelve planned cycle superhighways were completed in London in summer 2018.

Netherlands

In the Netherlands there is a broad network of cycle superhighways ( Dutch fietssnelwegen or snelfietsroutes ), which currently has more than 300 kilometers of routes. As early as the 1980s , efforts were made to build cycle superhighways.

Austria

There are currently no cycle superhighways in Austria . The Verkehrsclub Österreich (VCÖ), however, sees high-quality cycling infrastructure as an essential decision criterion for commuters to choose a bicycle when choosing a means of transport. The potential for cyclists in Austria is high: every third employee has less than six kilometers to their training or workplace. Cycle superhighways would usefully complement the existing cycle path network, which is designed for tourism in many places.

In the red-green Vienna government agreement of November 11, 2010, one of the main objectives for the further promotion of bicycle traffic in Vienna was defined as the “establishment of generous bicycle traffic corridors of special quality”. In September 2014, the City of Vienna's magistrate presented the first basic plans for three corridors (north, west, south) for the planned Viennese “long-distance cycle routes”. The main features of long-distance cycling are the optimization of travel time and noticeably better comfort for users than in the rest of the network. Long-distance cycling should be usable without any time-of-day or seasonal restrictions. In addition, an average travel speed of at least 15 kilometers per hour should be possible over the entire route. The target groups are professional, training and working day traffic. Less tight bends, clear intersections, minimizing the waiting time at traffic lights, priority for long-distance cycling and wide cycling facilities should ensure rapid progress. One orientates oneself on the quality of cycle superhighways, however without aiming at the high Dutch standards. Instead, well-developed main cycle routes in Vienna are to serve as urban cross-city lines that open up major urban development areas and potential settlement areas.

Switzerland

According to a leaflet from the Swiss Association of Transport Engineers and Transport Experts (SVI) from March 2018, high quality and use of "Velo" or cycle expressways, also known as "Velobahn" in Switzerland, are expected in Switzerland compared to the Netherlands or Denmark : The main target group Commuters are considered, for whom the expressways should be attractive, safe and fast, given right of way as far as possible and should be set up for speeds of at least 30 km / h (in the area of ​​links to 20 km / h). Cycle paths, wide cycle lanes with a solid line, car-free or poor roads and “bicycle roads” are considered to be most suitable for implementation; their introduction, expected in the short term, depends on a pilot test in 2017 in five Swiss cities; Accordingly, bicycle lanes could already be implemented today mostly without adapting existing laws and standards.

In many Swiss cities, there is a relatively good range of bike routes , but there are hardly any offers that meet the above criteria. In 2014, the city ​​of Winterthur decided on a network of bicycle lanes based on a project study and anchored it in the municipal structure plan. The time of implementation is still open. In 2015, the city ​​of St. Gallen examined the feasibility of a bike lane in an east-west direction in a study. In the Bern area , a discussion is currently taking place as part of the Bern-Mittelland regional conference on how bicycle lanes can help cope with the volume of urban traffic.

United States

Rio Hondo Cycle Highway at El Monte Airport ( Los Angeles County )
Cycle highway along the Arroyo Seco River ( Los Angeles )
Martin Olav Sabo Bridge on the Midtown Greenway (Minneapolis)

In the greater Los Angeles area in particular, attempts have been made for a number of years to develop alternatives to the car to the concept of the car-friendly city, which can no longer be meaningfully expanded. In addition to the establishment of an underground network (since 1990), the concept of cycle superhighways (so-called Class I cycle paths) is particularly pursued. The almost intersection-free Los Angeles River Bikeway from Long Beach on the Pacific to currently almost downtown Los Angeles and north of this to Burbank (47 km) is currently being expanded. In the final stage, the expressway should be 82 kilometers long. The San Gabriel River Bike Trail connects Seal Beach on the Pacific with Azusa in the northeast (60 km) as well as the Rio Hondo bicycle path , which branches off the Los Angeles River Bikeway and leads to Monrovia (28 km). Another expressway , which is currently being expanded, leads from downtown to South Pasadena ( Arroyo Seco bicycle path , currently 4 km). Along with the construction of the subway network, in the greater Los Angeles area, high-speed cycle routes were and are often created parallel to the track or concrete railway lines, such as along the Orange Line (20 km) and the new Expo Line to the Pacific (24 km), which are not always free of intersections and (currently) not always without interruption. So that cyclists can more easily overcome the steep inclines in the north of the city, for example to Burbank , or even the long distances, bicycles can be taken on the metro free of charge. The fast cycle paths and cycle paths are also coordinated with the metro network and the LA-Metro publishes a cycle path metro map. In the metropolitan Los Angeles existed in 2012, according to official figures of the administration, 162 km Radschnellwege ( Class I ), which in the coming years further 115 km will be added.

In other cities in the USA (such as Portland , Chicago , Denver , San Francisco , Seattle ) the expansion of cycle lanes is being promoted, but less emphasis is placed on (intersection-free) cycle highways. An exception is Minneapolis , which, for example, with the Midtown Greenway Cycle Expressway , which opened in 2007, provides an almost ten kilometers of largely intersection-free west-east connection through the city center (on a former railway line) and with the almost eight kilometers long Hiawatha LRT Trail, a north-south route. Created a connection as a cycle expressway - which, however, is not yet completely free of intersections and in parts has also been released for pedestrians.

Development in Germany

Since around 2010, there have been increasing efforts in Germany to establish high-speed cycle paths or similarly designed, high-quality cycle paths. The most important projects are listed below:

Baden-Württemberg

In 2017, the Baden-Wuerttemberg Ministry of Transport decided to implement three high-speed cycle connections, for which the state should be the client and take over the construction load: Heidelberg - Mannheim , Heilbronn - Neckarsulm - Bad Wimpfen and Stuttgart - Esslingen - Plochingen A total of ten high-speed cycle routes are initially to be set up in Baden-Württemberg will be realized. In southern Baden , routes to and around Freiburg are checked, and routes to Basel in the border triangle of Baden-Württemberg / Alsace / Switzerland . In the Freiburg area, two routes with investment costs i. H. v. 32 million euros favored, the mayors of the region want a quick implementation, but still consider the financing to be questionable.

On January 30, 2019, the state parliament decided that "state roads are all high-speed cycle connections that fulfill a regional or supraregional connection function and for which a traffic demand corresponding to the traffic significance is given or expected, especially in everyday bicycle traffic." With this new regulation, the state defines when it will take over the development of cycle superhighways.

The first cycle expressway in Baden-Württemberg was opened to traffic on May 31, 2019. It leads from Böblingen Sindelfingen to Stuttgart Rohr. The first 8 kilometers lead over a newly paved old tank road of the American army to Stuttgart, which was a listed building with its cobblestones. The aim is to attract around 2,000 cyclists per day for this route.

This route is not classified as particularly successful by the ADFC because it does not meet three basic requirements for cycle superhighways. There are no lost inclines avoided, there are too many junctions and there is no direct route without detours.

Stuttgart-Esslingen-Plochingen (Neckar Valley High Speed ​​Cycle Route)

On March 6, 2018, the mayors of the municipalities passed through, the district administrator of the Esslingen district and the transport ministry signed a declaration of participation. The commissioned planning office Radverkehr-Konzept presented three basic variants for the realization. During the "transport policy bike tour" of the Esslingen district on July 21, 2018, "Variant 2", which runs between the Stuttgart city limits and the Deizisau outdoor pool directly north of the Neckar, was described as having a lot of potential and can be implemented in the foreseeable future, making it a preferred variant. On November 9, 2018, RV-K presented "another variant for the final assessment", a mixed variant of 1 and 2. The feasibility study of the Esslingen district was published at the end of February 2019. The entire cycle expressway should be completed in 2028, and construction should start in 2020. An estimate of the construction costs for February 2019 is around € 60 million.

It is still unclear how the rapid cycle route should be continued in the Stuttgart area given the required width. The construction of Stuttgart's main bicycle route 2 between Hedelfingen and Stuttgart -Zentrum, originally planned for autumn 2017, has been delayed due to objections from some local councils. The state capital Stuttgart now also wants to have completed a feasibility study for cycle superhighways by the end of 2018.

Bavaria

Munich metropolitan region

A total of six cycle superhighways are to be planned and built in the Munich metropolitan region . The planning of four routes has already been decided. There are not only connections that lead from the periphery into the city of Munich, but also cross connections. The realization of the route from Munich to the University of Garching with a branch to Unterschleißheim is considered to be the most likely. Time goals have not yet been defined. A proposal for a first rapid cycle route was developed and published in 2014 by the ADFC Munich.

City axis Nuremberg

In the city axis around Nuremberg , based on ideas from the local ADFC district associations from 2013/2014, a study was commissioned in July 2015, which is to work out the variants from a network of possible routes that are necessary for fast cycle connections in the closely networked area of ​​the cities of Nuremberg, Fürth , Erlangen , Schwabach and Herzogenaurach are particularly suitable. The districts of Roth , Erlangen-Höchstadt , Nürnberger Land and Fürth are also part of the project . The aim is not only to define routes and build them later, but also to set general standards for cycle superhighways in Bavaria. The project is therefore jointly supported by the Free State of Bavaria and the regional authorities involved.

Berlin

According to the Berlin Mobility Act passed in 2018, high-speed cycle connections with a total length of at least one hundred kilometers are to be built in Berlin. Ten rapid cycle connections are initially planned . The first to be implemented is the Teltow Canal route . In 2019, the Danish company Ramboll won the tender from the Berlin Senate for the conception of six of the planned routes .

Bremen

In the city of Bremen , a network of eight “premium bike routes” is proposed as part of the Bremen 2025 Transport Development Plan (VEP), which correspond to the description of high-speed cycle connections with slightly modified expansion standards. The peculiarity here is that with the adoption of the VEP in the Bremen citizenship there is a fundamental approval of the politicians, which has not yet been formally decided in other projects. The planned implementation of the first premium bike route to Bremen-Nord continues to be delayed. The Bremen section of the list of fast bike connections in Germany contains an overview of the planning status of the premium bike routes.

Hesse

Rhine-Main metropolitan region

The Rhine-Main region is regarded as Germany's commuter stronghold. In the densely populated conurbation, larger cities such as Frankfurt am Main , Darmstadt , Wiesbaden , Mainz or Offenbach am Main are sometimes in close proximity to one another and generate complex commuter flows. For example, more than 334,000 people commute to Frankfurt alone every day, the economic and cultural center of the region.

Important destinations such as industrial and business locations, residential areas and major transport hubs are relatively close to one another and - provided that the appropriate infrastructure is available - can be reached quickly and comfortably by bike.

In addition, chronically overloaded routes of other modes of transport such as the Frankfurt S-Bahn tunnel (" City-Tunnel Frankfurt ") or sections of the A 3 and A 5 federal motorways would be relieved by more frequent bicycle use.

Shelter and repair station on the cycle expressway near Egelsbach

The regional association FrankfurtRheinMain has therefore, based on a regional potential analysis, selected the pilot route Frankfurt-Darmstadt as the preferred corridor for implementing a cycle superhighway from six possible corridors in the Rhine-Main area. A project-accompanying working group with the seven neighboring municipalities of Frankfurt am Main, Neu-Isenburg , Dreieich , Langen (Hesse) , Egelsbach , Erzhausen and Darmstadt has existed since summer 2013 under the leadership of the regional association . The Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences is providing scientific support for the project. The project partners jointly carried out a preliminary study to explore possible routes and identified three route favorites. Furthermore, a cooperation and financing application for joint commissioning of a feasibility study was concluded between the regional association and the neighboring municipalities. The results with the action plan and cost calculation were available at the end of 2014. In the course of the project, the planned high-speed cycle route in 2016 was downgraded to a "direct cycle connection", as the requirements for a high-speed cycle route (including lane widths, asphalting and lighting, especially in wooded areas) should not be implemented.

The groundbreaking for the first construction phase (Egelsbach - Erzhausen - Darmstadt-Wixhausen) took place on October 16, 2018 with the participation of the Hessian Transport Minister Tarek Al-Wazir (Greens) near Egelsbach; the first three and a half kilometers long section between Darmstadt-Wixhausen (north) and Egelsbach with a four meter wide carriageway was opened on June 6, 2019. Another 700 meter long section to the Darmstadt-Wixhausen S-Bahn station was released at the beginning of June 2020 after a year of construction. The completed express route with a total length of 30 kilometers is to be Template: future / in 2 yearsexpanded by 2023 , although details in the urban areas of Darmstadt and Frankfurt are still open at this time. Hesse would have the potential for 42 more rapid cycle routes.

Lower Saxony: Metropolitan Region Hanover

Pilot project e-bike expressway Göttingen

eRadschnellweg Göttingen on Robert-Koch-Straße (2015): The route is the first rapid cycle path to be implemented in Germany.

A feasibility study carried out on behalf of the Hanover - Braunschweig - Göttingen - Wolfsburg metropolitan region confirms the benefits of cycle superhighways in the region. In a first stage, a selection of six routes for cycle superhighways was made on the basis of an expression of interest and financial participation of local authorities in the metropolitan region. Suggestions for the routing came from the participating municipalities. The six routes were evaluated in terms of potential, feasibility and transferability of the measure concepts.

In a second stage, work steps were specified, design principles were defined and typical solutions for nodes and conflict points were named. The project steering group selected three routes as routes to be pursued further: Wolfenbüttel  -  Braunschweig , Garbsen  - Hanover and Rosdorf  - Göttingen -Nord. The route “Rosdorf - Göttingen-Nord” was given priority “because of the interesting model problem of a route guidance close to the city center and the already very high density of bicycle traffic on the route today. The strong support on the part of the administrative top of the district and the city of Göttingen for the feasibility study and the expected political support on site were decisive for the decision regarding an in-depth examination of this route ”.

A rough cost estimate calculated total costs of EUR 2.7 million for a route length of 9.2 km. As part of the electromobility showcase , the city of Göttingen implemented a four-kilometer section as the “Göttingen e-bike expressway”. This pilot route, which connects the Göttingen train station with the north campus of the Georg-August University , was completed in 2015. The cost of the pilot route is estimated at around 1.8 million euros. The route from the main station towards Rosdorf is being planned and partly already under construction.

Cycle expressway Hanover - Lehrte

Planned and built cycle expressways in and around Hanover, as of March 2019

In 2016, the city council of Hanover commissioned the construction of a cycle expressway from Hanover city center to Lehrte .

The RSW begins in Hanover at Berliner Allee, crosses under the Hanover - Lehrte railway line and roughly follows it in the further course. Existing roads will become bicycle roads with structural privileges for bicycle traffic. However, completely new sections are also to be created that are only created for bicycle and pedestrian traffic.

The width of the cycle path is between 3.00 and 4.50 meters, with the minimum width of pure cycle traffic without pedestrians and drivers. The route should have a total length of approx. 18 km. The construction costs amount to 3.8 million euros. The start of construction for the 1st construction phase is planned for 2019.

Cycle expressway Hanover - Garbsen

A second high-speed cycle path is to lead from the Steintor in Hanover via the Herrenhausen Gardens, Letter and Marienwerder to the new engineering campus in Garbsen. The planned route is to be 13 km long. The route will be completely asphalted, illuminated, as free from traffic lights as possible and, for the most part, at least 4 meters wide.

On March 19, 2019, it became known that the route along the West Schnellweg could not be used, so the route along Herrenhäuser Strasse and a route via Linden Nord and the Wasserstadt remain. A possible start of construction could be 2020.

Cycle expressway Hanover - Langenhagen

The third rapid cycle path will begin at the back of Hanover's main train station and lead to Langenhagen. The districts of Mitte, List, Vahrenheide, Langenhagen and Krähenwinkel are connected to one another. It should be about 13 kilometers long.

A preliminary start of construction is planned for 2021.

Cycle expressway Hanover - Laatzen

According to the "Green City Plan Hanover", the city is planning another rapid cycle path from the city center of Hanover to southern Laatzen. Due to the guided tour through a nature reserve, the implementation appears difficult. A realization is planned for the 2020s.

North Rhine-Westphalia

Cycle expressways planned in North Rhine-Westphalia (as of 2018)

Ruhr cycle route (RS1)

Overview RS1
Cycle expressway Ruhr on the city limits of Essen / Mülheim in June 2015, here with non-standard pavement
Ruhr cycle route on the Mülheim city viaduct. The way to the Ruhr West University of Applied Sciences has been free since 2019.

The high-speed cycle route RS1 is being built in the Ruhr area . The first sections have been completed, others are under construction or in planning. This approximately 100 kilometer long cycle expressway is intended to offer commuters an attractive connection between the cities of Duisburg , Mülheim an der Ruhr , Essen , Gelsenkirchen , Bochum , Dortmund , Unna , Kamen , Bergkamen and Hamm .

After the basic feasibility of the project had already been determined in a concept study, the feasibility study presented at the beginning of September 2014 went into the detailed planning. The form of guidance, crossings, crossings and other infrastructure are described in detail and solutions and costs are determined for each individual section. The study also describes the financing, the sponsorship and the corporate design and includes a cost-benefit analysis. All municipalities involved are involved in the discussion. The Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure financed the study. The Ruhr Regional Association is the project sponsor of RS1. In addition, actors such as landscape authorities, the waterways and shipping administration of the federal government , the state agency for road construction in North Rhine-Westphalia , the NABU, etc. are involved in the planning. Citizen participation is ensured through various communication measures. There were three regional specialist conferences in Dortmund , Duisburg and Essen to present the results of the study and to start project communication.

Plans in the Mülheim area, which became known in August 2015, provide for an interruption of the 100-kilometer rapid cycle route here in the city center. A high promenade is to be built on the 300 m long viaduct in the Bahnstraße area . According to reports, the RS1 should be “no way to break through”. A promenade with extensive furniture is to be built on the eight-meter-wide arched viaduct. Seating, flower beds and troughs as well as a covered balcony with a view of the town hall square are planned. Depending on the planning variant, the viaduct is to be narrowed to a mixed traffic area of ​​up to 3.8 meters. The feasibility study for the RS1 calculates an average daily cycle traffic volume of 2000 to 3000 for this section. The study takes into account the expected high number of pedestrians with a changed cross-section of the route. The route characteristics of a cycle superhighway with separation into cycle traffic and pedestrian areas are retained. The planning suggestions here are two two-meter-wide pedestrian areas and a three-meter-wide cycle track in the middle. The plans for the high promenade are criticized.

On November 27, 2015, the first section of the Ruhr rapid cycle route between the centers of Mülheim an der Ruhr and Essen was opened. The section of the Rheinische Bahn , which has been expanded into a cycle expressway, runs for almost eleven kilometers, although the separation from pedestrian traffic or the range of offers for this does not yet meet the desired standards everywhere. In the Dortmund area, construction of sections is not expected to start before 2020.

Since the cycle expressway was interrupted by crossing the Berthold-Beitz-Boulevard between Krupp-Park and Essen University , the groundbreaking ceremony for a bridge over this street took place on February 7, 2020 . The steel bridge will be 82 meters long and six meters wide, with a separate strip for cyclists and pedestrians.

Further cycle highway projects

In addition to the rapid cycle route RS1, further rapid cycle routes are to be planned with the support of the state government in North Rhine-Westphalia . For this purpose, the state government launched a planning competition in 2013 and awarded five projects:

For the five winning projects, the state initially funded a feasibility study with 80 percent cost sharing . This is the basis for further preliminary and implementation planning, which the state also supports financially. Together with the RS1, more than 250 kilometers of inter-regional high-speed cycle routes are planned in various regions in North Rhine-Westphalia. The state government defined the promotion of cycle superhighways as an important component in its action plan to promote local mobility that it adopted in February 2012 . The first of the five feasibility studies has been available since May 2016 for the Ostwestfalen-Lippe (RSW OWL) expressway.

With the Nordbahntrasse in Wuppertal, a total of 22 km long cycle path has existed since 2014, which meets the criteria of a fast cycle path over 9 km in the inner city area. Even if the Nordbahntrasse was not planned as such, it can still be regarded as one of the first completed cycle superhighways in North Rhine-Westphalia.

In the Gladbeck / Bottrop / Essen area there is an additional high-speed cycle path in the idea phase as an alternative to an extension of the federal motorway 52 or the route of the old "Krupp railway".

Another express cycle route is currently being planned between Herford, Bielefeld , Gütersloh and Rheda-Wiedenbrück . The rapid cycle route under the direction of the city of Bielefeld will be connected to the RS3 in Herford. The project with the title Radschnellweg OWL 2.0, in which five administrations and three associations of the ADFC are involved, is registered for the regional development program REGIONALE 2022.

In 2016, the Roads and Roads Act (StrWG NRW) was changed in North Rhine-Westphalia. Cycle superhighways are therefore treated like state roads . Depending on the size of the town, the construction of all cycle superhighways can be borne by the building load of the state and can be funded to the extent of 70 percent in cities with more than 80,000 inhabitants.

Rhineland-Palatinate

As a pilot project , the state of Rhineland-Palatinate is planning a rapid cycle connection between Bingen , Ingelheim and Mainz . Since it should have a low standard for a cycle expressway, it is referred to by the state as a commuter cycle route . In a press release, the ministry points out that the state itself is only responsible for a small proportion, so that close cooperation with the municipalities is necessary.

Other Projects

Nordbahntrasse in Wuppertal: The “multifunctional” railroad cycle path has in part an expansion similar to a cycle expressway with a separate pedestrian area.

In addition to the major projects mentioned above, other bicycle highways-like cycling facilities were set up some time ago. In Kiel , the first sections of “Veloroute 10” are already connecting residential quarters with workplaces and training locations. The finally expanded route is to run from the Hassee district to the university. A preliminary study for the implementation of the cycle path, which is designed as a cycle expressway, provides for a guided tour on a disused railway line. The completion of the planning is targeted by autumn 2015, the construction preparation should run until 2016. The expansion envisages a combination of a four-meter-wide cycle path and a separate footpath.

Crossing-free cycle paths are being created especially on disused railway lines, for example on the former Bochum ore railway . In Wuppertal , too , a cycle path was created on the route of the former northern railway line , which was opened on December 19, 2014 and "is now almost entirely passable for over 23 kilometers". This high-quality cycle path, at least in the inner-city area, meets the criteria set for North Rhine-Westphalia for fast cycle paths with regard to freedom of intersections, width, lighting and separation of cycle and pedestrian traffic, but was not marketed under the term cycle fast path.

A 6.4 km long cycle expressway is under construction between Osnabrück and Belm as a contribution to the city's “Master Plan 100 Percent Climate Protection”. Most of the route is to run along the railway line from Osnabrück to Bremen . The first groundbreaking for this project took place in November 2017. A first 500-meter-long construction section along Schlachthofstrasse in Osnabrück was opened to traffic in March 2018. Around 1.2 km of cycle lanes have been traffic-free since May 2019. The path shows a preference for cyclists in intersection areas and on many sections a width of four meters. In order to be able to achieve this width, the westernmost part of Schlachthofstraße was narrowed and converted into a one-way street.

Freiburg im Breisgau, cycle priority route FR1 “Dreisamuferweg”: View of a section with a new separation of cycle and pedestrian traffic

Freiburg im Breisgau is planning and building a city-wide network of three cycle priority routes. The term “cycle priority route” was chosen because, due to lack of space, the criteria for cycle superhighways cannot be met everywhere. By summer 2015, several extensive route extensions and crossings such as underpasses had already been built.

In Berlin, the construction of a rapid cycle route as a south-west connection between Potsdamer Platz / Gleisdreieck and Zehlendorf (with a possible extension to Potsdam) is being discussed. There is also the idea of ​​setting up a covered, cross-free "cycle track" under the U1 route between the West / Zoo, Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain. The idea was awarded the Federal Ecodesign Prize in 2015.

Without a generally applicable, binding definition, it remains to be seen whether these routes can correctly be described as cycle superhighways. Until a uniform regulation for the planning and design of rapid cycle routes has been found to supplement the ERA, the transition between rapid cycle routes and high-quality, well-developed (railroad) cycle paths will remain fluid, as the latter only partially fulfill the properties of high-speed cycle routes. The term rapid cycle connection , on the other hand, is clearly defined by the above-mentioned FGSV working paper from 2014, without any of the rapid cycle routes mentioned having been checked to see whether its criteria are consistently met. Along with other facilities for cycling, such as the green arrow at traffic lights with clearance for cycling , a " test clause " for traffic tests and expanded options for opening one-way streets in the opposite direction , a nationwide traffic sign for cycle superhighways will be included in the road traffic regulations in 2020 (sign 350.1 ) and has been in force since April 28th.

Web links

Commons : Radschnellweg  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

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